I hate irony!!! I'm pumped for a trip to the smokies. I read the report daily. So I tell my wife how good it is. I convince my friend to go with me. I tell him how good the fishing has been. So once I convince him to go, Byron says it's slowed down! Ironic. So is it really that bad?
What do the rest of you say?
Is it fishing slowed from heat, pressure, the moon or what?

I think it has to do a lot with where you choose to fish. The areas close to roads are getting pounded, so Id venture as far from the roads as possible. I fished the park last Sunday and did well catching several brookies and rainbows, but I had to hike a little ways. I fished some areas next to roads also and there was a considerable difference in success.

No worries in my opinion. I fished the NC side of the park Sunday morning on a medium-sized remote stream. The water level was high, as we had sporadic showers Friday night and Saturday am. In just a few hours I caught numerous fish, most to a tungsten nymph dropper under a dry. Quite a few were also willing to eat the stimulator on top. There were yellow sallies coming off sporadically all morning. It was cool and I was wearing a fleece, though I probably could have done without it.

Fishing reports are meant to be a general guide. Conditions can change by the day and hour, depending on temperature, cloud cover and whether we get rain. The best thing to do is just come fishing. It's a great time of year. I agree with the advice to seek out the less popular streams for willing fish and better scenery. Back of beyond is what it is all about. Bring your walking shoes and enjoy. If it were August and we were in a drought, I'd have different advice.

The fishing is on and off all summer, but where you choose to fish is indeed a factor. If you get out there and fish in the wee hours and then also hit the water right before dusk you'll get into some good fishing. Avoid water that's already been fished as much as possible. Even the best fishermen have a hard time catching fish when they are fishing behind someone else. It normally takes a while (more than an hour or two) for a Smoky Mountain stream to "reset" after someone has fished it.

When are you coming down, and where are you planning to stay? Maybe folks could recommend a few spots...

Fishing may be a little slower, but the fishing is still good. I was up there last week end and the fishing was very sporadic. I still managed several fish. To me even the water that has been fished hard still has fish to catch. I caught most of mine in over looked runs that most wouldn't fish. The other thing I noticed is that the drift has got to be natural, any drag at all and you are out of luck. Several nice fish were at the tail out that most people don't fish.

well, I'm hoping to come down on Thursday through Sat/Sun of next week. He has never fished like this before, except for once out west somewhere and got nothing. So I'm playing guide. Any advice is always appreciated.

I'm heading down to fish all day Friday and Saturday AM this week. I've only fished along a few roads. This will only be my third trip. Can anyone suggest some areas/streams to hit? I understand you may not want to give out your secret spots. I get that. Any help would be greatly appreciated though.

This may be a stupid question, but can I go to ANY stream in the Smokies and find trout? Don't want to hike up a few miles if there is no chance in finding trout.

Most streams in the park hold trout unless they are just very small or tiny streams. Not a lot of trout down in lower abrams creek below cs 17 but even a few there. Just read back through the posts on this blog and you will find many suggestions. The little river above Elkmont is a good standard one that is hard to go wrong on. Also the other usual spots Deep Creek, West Prong of Little Pigeon, West Prong of the Little River, Middle Prong of the Little River (along Tremont road) etc. Those are some of the big ones with fairly easy access but there are many more.

A real good place to get a better answer is Fred Turner's site (smokystreams.com):

Come on down jross. Younger Tom and I fished 5 days last week - different stream each day. Caught fish every day - enough to invite a few to dinner on the days we decided to keep some. Afternoons proved much better than mornings.

I ran into Kirk from Maryville on the way out of Sams Creek today (he had been fishing Thunderhead) and between the two of us, we split catching around 50. Hats off to Kirk; never heard of anybody having that kind of luck on Thunderhead and in just a couple of hours.

So have no fear, the fish are here...and willing. Just got to pick the right spots.